What Christmas Means to Me

Christmas is such a joyous time of year! But for many the disorientation of 2020 has caused this year to feel different than the rest. This Christmas season at Woodside we’d love for you and your family to be reminded of the sentiment of Christmas through the eyes of the next generation. We’ve asked one of our High School students, Autumn Simon to share with us what Christmas, especially in 2020, means to her. Check it out!

If you went up to multiple people and asked them what Christmas meant to them in 2020, I do not doubt that you would get a handful of answers. Some may say this Christmas will never look the same because of loved ones that were lost, or others may say that Christmas will be a day full of gratitude and joy because of what this year has taught them.

2020 has held many blessings in disguise, yet it tends to be blinded by all the uncertainty it has held. Within this chaos, I was able to sit back, put aside my selfish ways, and see what Jesus has been teaching me in this season. Every Sunday, my intermediate family will gather together after church to have lunch. Since it has become an every-week occurrence for years, it was like second nature to me; wake up, go to church, and have lunch with the family. I looked forward to it every week because of its repetition. I just automatically assumed it would happen. It would bring me so much happiness, knowing that it would be another Sunday filled with exciting circumstances and that life would be all rainbows and butterflies. But unfortunately, that is not what this year ended up being.

We can still have happiness based on our circumstances and get excited about upcoming events in our lives. Yet, it becomes a dangerous mentality to form when we base our happiness on our circumstances. Jesus ever so quietly revealed to me during this extended lock-down that if you base your mood on your circumstances, get ready to be on an emotional roller coaster. I am a person who loves exciting times and gets excited about upcoming events, but when they don’t go as I have planed them, then all seems lost. I get upset that my life couldn’t just stick to the plan, but the hard truth to grasp is that life will never stick to your plan. Our circumstances are always changing, and if we are the type of person to base our emotions on our circumstances, then buckle up.

This year I haven’t felt content with what our World has become. My emotions have been all over the place. During all this frustration, Jesus opened my eyes to not rely on your circumstances for happiness but to rely on Him for everlasting joy. Maybe this Christmas season will look different for you, specifically because of the loss of a loved one, or for some, it may be the same Christmas as last year. In both situations, I have learned to not take advantage of what I already have now before it is gone. Whether you have lost a close relative or friend, let’s not let the circumstances of the situations shape the way the season of Christmas is supposed to be. Am I saying this is an easy task? Of course not! My heart breaks for you all that have lost someone so dear to you. Christmas is a season of joy and gratitude for our Savior’s coming, and I know how hard that can be to celebrate without someone you love not being there.

I lost my great-grandma, Nannie, to Alzheimer’s just a couple of months before Christmas. Her loss was very hard for my family. However, knowing she was dancing on the streets of gold with Jesus, the reason why we celebrate Christmas, comforted every bone in my body. Let’s try and not base our mood on our circumstances of this year but let’s come together and have joy celebrating the reason why we are all still here. Let’s not let this season divide us from our loved ones because it can all be taken away from us within seconds. Let us not let the devil have a foothold on us. Let’s let the joy of our Savior coming to save us from the fire of Hell seeping into every crevice of our mind. God sent His only Son to die a brutal death on a cross for you and me. Let us celebrate that joy together this year.

To here more about what Christmas means to some of our Woodside Kids, check out our most recent episode of The Link, “Christmas Through the Eyes of a Child.”